Describe your teacher's teaching style. What type of relationships with students does he or she nurture in their classes? How do students perceive that power is distributed in the classes? Does this vary within or across the different classes the teacher has? Cite examples from your observations to support your inferences. Remember to reflect on what style of teaching you will gravitate toward and the how you want to be perceived by your students
Mrs. P's teaching style is is very interactive with her students. I've had the opportunity to observe her class when she given lecture, during informal labs, and during test taking. I had the opportunity to sit in during an IEP meeting and with planning time. I see Mrs. P as very approachable, enthusiastic and fair which nurtures relationships with her students.
Her approach during lecture is more like a discussion period where both students and teacher ask questions. She usually offers her students a note taking sheet during this time. It helps her students to keep all their new information organized, and it allows her more time to teach the important concepts. The students don't have to furiously copy everything into their note books, so this enables them to concentrate on what she is trying to teach. During the last observation, she began the lesson for solids, liquids, and gases with a copy of the notes covering the concepts and definitions that she wanted them to learn and understand. After the presentation of the material, she gave them a 'paper folding' activity, where each student was to fold their paper into sixths and in one section they had to draw and label a phase and write its description (what was going on with the particles) within that phase. They described each phase change and this was a graded assignment. It was important for the students to know that this assignment was graded because the quarter closes next Friday...it was an opportunity for them to get some extra points.
At the beginning of this observation, the students took a test. The students in this class are in very close proximity so this presents the problem of 'roaming eyes.' To eliminate this problem, Mrs. P (with the help of her husband) created what she calls Privacy Protectors. They assembled peg board to a couple pieces of wood with brackets and screws that serve as dividers between the students for test taking. The students know that she will not tolerate cheating. (Because the dividers are made from peg board, they are also useful lab equipment)
Mrs. P mangages her classroom well. Because the students are in close proximity of each other, they tend to socialize - especially in the back of the classroom. When she is lecturing or when the students are doing seat work, she walks around the classroom. This non-verbal cue keeps her students on-task. The students seem to know what level of socialization is acceptable during class, and should the students become disruptive, I've seen her clamly change the seating arrangement without hesitation. The students quickly realized that they had pushed a little too much and the disruptive behavior diminished. Also, to keep her students on task, she will remind them of the class overview, letting them know how much time they have left to meet the day's objective. During each observation, Mrs. P has accomplished each day's objective, showing that she holds the power in classroom.
I would like to be perceived by my students as a 'tough but fair' teacher. Tough in the sense that the students are challenged, but fair in the sense that I am perceived as approachable and available to help each student no matter their academic level.
Mrs. P's teaching style is is very interactive with her students. I've had the opportunity to observe her class when she given lecture, during informal labs, and during test taking. I had the opportunity to sit in during an IEP meeting and with planning time. I see Mrs. P as very approachable, enthusiastic and fair which nurtures relationships with her students.
Her approach during lecture is more like a discussion period where both students and teacher ask questions. She usually offers her students a note taking sheet during this time. It helps her students to keep all their new information organized, and it allows her more time to teach the important concepts. The students don't have to furiously copy everything into their note books, so this enables them to concentrate on what she is trying to teach. During the last observation, she began the lesson for solids, liquids, and gases with a copy of the notes covering the concepts and definitions that she wanted them to learn and understand. After the presentation of the material, she gave them a 'paper folding' activity, where each student was to fold their paper into sixths and in one section they had to draw and label a phase and write its description (what was going on with the particles) within that phase. They described each phase change and this was a graded assignment. It was important for the students to know that this assignment was graded because the quarter closes next Friday...it was an opportunity for them to get some extra points.
At the beginning of this observation, the students took a test. The students in this class are in very close proximity so this presents the problem of 'roaming eyes.' To eliminate this problem, Mrs. P (with the help of her husband) created what she calls Privacy Protectors. They assembled peg board to a couple pieces of wood with brackets and screws that serve as dividers between the students for test taking. The students know that she will not tolerate cheating. (Because the dividers are made from peg board, they are also useful lab equipment)
Mrs. P mangages her classroom well. Because the students are in close proximity of each other, they tend to socialize - especially in the back of the classroom. When she is lecturing or when the students are doing seat work, she walks around the classroom. This non-verbal cue keeps her students on-task. The students seem to know what level of socialization is acceptable during class, and should the students become disruptive, I've seen her clamly change the seating arrangement without hesitation. The students quickly realized that they had pushed a little too much and the disruptive behavior diminished. Also, to keep her students on task, she will remind them of the class overview, letting them know how much time they have left to meet the day's objective. During each observation, Mrs. P has accomplished each day's objective, showing that she holds the power in classroom.
I would like to be perceived by my students as a 'tough but fair' teacher. Tough in the sense that the students are challenged, but fair in the sense that I am perceived as approachable and available to help each student no matter their academic level.